What is pet insurance?
As the name suggests, pet insurance refers to policies that cover our furry friends. They typically only consider cats and dogs, and give protection for scenarios such as death, injury, medical expenses, theft and even cremation.Pet insurance helps to offset the often hefty costs of taking care of pets, and also offers third party liability cover.
Get your pets covered 🐶🐱
Pet insurance helps to offset the often hefty costs of taking care of pets, and also offers third party liability cover.
Why is pet insurance something to consider?
Like us humans, animals also have healthcare needs and might have unexpected expenses from accidents. These cost money, and similarly to humans, often come with sizable bills. As a pet owner, you wouldn’t want to be found in a situation where you find yourself faced with a bill you can ill afford and your beloved pet’s wellbeing.
Also, even the most well-behaved dogs can have their off days. Your pet might cause injury or damage to property on those occasions, leaving you liable for the compensation. Getting insurance is one way to protect owners and pets.
Best Pet Insurance Plans
Most comprehensive: Liberty PetCare
Highest claim limit for surgical fees: Income Happy Tails and Liberty PetCare
No need for medical examination to purchase: Liberty PetCare and CIMB My Paw Pal (underwritten by Sompo)
Best for older pets: Income Happy Tails and Liberty PetCare
Free to choose veterinarian: Liberty PetCare
No claim discounts available: Income Happy Tails and Liberty PetCare
Comparison of insurance plans for dogs 🐶
| Insurer | Eligibility | Coverage period | Maximum claim for medical expenses | Maximum third party liability coverage | Maximum accidental death coverage | Maximum theft coverage | Excludes certain breeds |
| Income Happy Tails | 16 weeks to 9 years old | Lifetime | S$10,000 (Surgical only) | S$500,000 | NA | NA | No |
| Liberty PetCare | 8 weeks to 9 years old | Up to 13 years old | S$3,000 (Non-surgical) + $10,000 (Surgical) | S$500,000 | S$3,000 | Up to S$1,250 | No |
| CIMB My Paw Pal | 12 weeks to 7 yearrs old | Up to 13 years old | S$1,500 (Due to accident) + S$1,500 (Due to illness) | S$250,000 | S$1,500 | Up to S$1,500 | Yes |
Comparison of insurance plans for cats 🐱
| Insurer | Eligibility | Coverage period | Maximum claim for medical expenses | Maximum third party liability coverage | Maximum accidental death coverage | Maximum theft coverage | Excludes certain breeds |
| Income Happy Tails | 16 weeks to 9 years old | Lifetime | S$3,800 (Surgical only) | S$250,000 | NA | NA | No |
| Liberty PetCare | 8 weeks to 9 years old | Up to 13 years old | S$3,000 (Non-surgical) + S$10,000 (Surgical) | S$500,000 | S$3,000 | Up to S$1,250 | No |
| CIMB My Paw Pal | 12 weeks to 7 yearrs old | Up to 13 years old | S$1,500 (Due to accident) + S$1,500 (Due to illness) | S$250,000 | S$1,500 | NA | Yes |
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Frequently Asked Questons (FAQs)
What are the major exclusions?
As is the case with typical health insurance for human beings, there are exclusions when it comes to coverage for your pets. These include pre-existing conditions – which the clinical examinations where necessary will uncover – as well as developing conditions detected.
Sickness that occurs or where treatment is necessary within the waiting period before coverage begins, typically the first 90 days, will also be a major exclusion.
Preventative care would also tend not to be covered, as it is considered something that is the responsibility of a pet owner. These include vaccinations, spaying or neutering, titer test, flea control, and dental healthcare.
Injury or sickness that resulted because of intentional or neglectful acts would also be excluded from coverage.
Exclusions differ from policy to policy, the details of which are available in each plan’s policy wording. It would be wise to read through the documents to get a sense of which policy suits you and your pet’s needs more.
Other exclusions:
- Theft arising from any intentional, neglectful or preventable act
- Liability arising from any intentional or preventable act
- Pre-existing, hereditary, congenital and skin Conditions
- Day to day care, preventative procedures and treatment e.g. vitamins, supplements, vaccinations, training, grooming, therapy, flea/tick/worm control
- Diagnosis of or treatment for parasites
- Conditions related to breeding or pregnancy
- Dental care and damage to teeth and gums unless as a result of an accident
- Illness related to endoparasites (such as worms) or ectoparasites (such as ticks, fleas, skin mites), hip dysplasia, rabies
- Age related changes to the pet’s eyes or ears
- Dogs: treatment of infectious canine hepatitis (canine adenovirus), parvovirus, canine distemper, parainfluenza and all forms of kennel cough
- Cats: panleutopaenia, Chlamydia, leukaemia (FeLV), Feline Immuno Deficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, herpes virus and all forms of cat flu
- Elective procedures and treatments e.g. nail clipping, tail docking, debarking, behavioural problems, cell-replacement therapies, spaying or neutering
- Any declared pandemic disease that causes widespread Illness affecting dogs or cats
Is Chemotherapy covered?
Some plans, such as the Happy Tails package, have specific chemotherapy coverage on top of its clinical and surgical benefit. Other plans list benefits generally as medical expenses, which could be used to cover chemotherapy if deemed recommended by a veterinarian, and if it within the maximum annual coverage limit of your plan.
What do co-insurance and deductibles refer to?
Co-insurance refers to the portion of the total claim that you would have to pay on your own. For instance, if the co-insurance is 20% and you make a claim for medical expenses amounting to S$1,000, you would need to pay S$200 of the bill on your own.
Deductibles refer to the fixed share of an insurance claim that you have to foot before the plan starts to pay you. For example, if a plan stipulates a S$100 deductible, it means you would need to pay the first S$100 before the insurer takes care of the remaining claim.
They both basically mean that you would have to bear some costs of the claim.
Does coverage start immediately?
Most plans have a waiting period, which is a timeframe from the first commencement date of the policy during which claims would not be payable. The length of waiting periods varies, from a month to three months, or even longer for specified hereditary and congenital conditions.
Is it mandatory for my pet to be microchipped?
Yes
Medical costs for pets can be as high as S$2,000 per month
For treating cancer and kidney failure
How pet owners can cope with high vet costs
Owning a pet may not be as costly as bringing up a child, but our furkids can be quite demanding on our wallets too. This is especially so as our pets get older since, like us humans, getting on in age also means more ailments and medical attention needed. Getting pet insurance can significantly help to defray the costs of veterinarian visits.
Another way to keep unexpected expenditure to a minimum would be to bring our pets for regular check-ups, as well as ensure they are vaccinated where needed annually. This means any health concerns, especially those that are yet detectable by our naked eyes, can be spotted early and treated before they become more serious – and hence more costly.